Adrian Coales

Retired mental health nurse Adrian Coales started volunteering for Vision Norfolk as a telephone befriender during 2019. He has personal experience of sight loss, having been diagnosed with Stargardts disease in 2011.

“At present I phone seven people, they vary in age from 22 years to the eldest being 92. With one exception the people are living on their own and have various degrees of sight loss. I feel that I am providing a service to people who may not speak to someone from one week to the next, which is very satisfying.”

“The telefriending service is a two-way conversation. I have learnt a lot about being sight impaired and find that the people I talk to are as much a resource for me as I hope I am to them. I find that the interaction with others who are sight impaired stimulating and rewarding.”